SRSA Quarter 4 performance; Eminent Persons Group Report outcomes and priorities; Lovelife, with Minister and Deputy Minister

Meeting report

Minister’s Opening address

Mr Thulas Nxesi, Minister of Sport and Recreation, said the 2015/2016 Eminent Persons Group (EPG) Transformation Status report, which was released officially earlier in May, had been accompanied by a certain amount of controversy in relation to the accompanying transformation barometer. The report released had been based on a mass of data containing multiple analyses across 19 sporting codes, so it was always going to be difficult for people to assimilate. He was not surprised that certain people in the media had misunderstood the report. There were charges that the report was based on old data. The other charge was that transformation had not been achieved, and therefore the sports federations were being let off the hook.  There was a need for the document to be properly understood by the officials in the Portfolio Committee. He also pointed out that the Members of the Executive Council (MEC) had also misunderstood the contents of the document. The Department had been accused of making an announcement with no context and explanation.

The Minister said that transformation was a concept which was always misunderstood and therefore there was a need to communicate properly to the nation, especially the relevant stakeholders, before the release of the next EPG report for 2018. He spoke about the measures taken to ensure that the various federations met their set targets. He also told the Committee he was supporting the bid of the South African Rugby Union to host the 2023 World cup.

For the first time, the 2015/16 EPG report gave a code by code analysis which allowed each of the federations to reflect on their strengths and weakness and take appropriate action. Moving forward, the scope of the transformation barometer would be expanded from the current five codes to cover all 19 codes covered in the main report. The barometer was forward looking and sought to commit federations to future targets for transformation, and that would allow the Department to increase the pace of sports development and the transformation project.

According to the Minister, the EPG report provided the science which underpinned the Department’s vision of an “Active and Winning Nation” -- an active and healthy nation which required sports development in schools and communities, and from there an integrated and aligned sport system which recognised and channelled talent to the highest level of sport to ensure a winning nation.  The two parts of the vision were inextricably interdependent. Therefore, school sport was critical to the entire sports system, and the 2015/16 annual report into transformation in sport was a reminder that school sport was the “Achilles heel “of the entire sports system. There had been an increase in the number and percentage of children in townships and rural schools, which was resulting in a decline in the percentage of traditionally sporting schools.

The EPG sought to remind the nation that transformation was not simply about the radical makeup of the national teams. The EPG audits what happens across the whole sport system. This report showed that transformation was a process and not an event. This starts with the development at schools and the community level. This process needed to be measured and evaluated. This measurement and evaluation was what the EPG annual audit and barometer sought to achieve. For the transformation barometer, federations -- based on their circumstances -- set transformation targets to be achieved annually. This system had been embraced by the national federations to support transformation and for strategic reasons to increase the pool of talent. With relation to the Rugby World Cup 2023 bid, there had been some element of controversy which had been clarified in the budget vote debate.

Former Minister Fikile Mbalula had taken firm action over the transformation targets against certain national federations in 2016 because they had been underperformers, achieving less than 50% of their set targets for transformation. With the release of the EPG annual report and barometer of transformation in sport, the situation had changed. In the case of rugby, they had achieved all their targets for 2015, and well over 50% of the targets set for 2016. This was the reason the Minister of Sport had lifted the ban on their bidding to host international tournaments, and this was also applicable to cricket and netball.

The Minister clarified that lifting the ban did not automatically imply that government supported the bid for 2023. However, he was supporting the bid in his capacity as Minister of Sport, but there was a need to make the case to the National Treasury and Cabinet. He had decided to support the bid because it would be good for nation building, social cohesion, rugby and sport in general. More importantly, in the present economic climate, the South African Rugby Union (SARU) had used independent auditors to make a very strong financial case that the World Cup would pay for itself in terms of economic activity generated by sports tourism, job creation and resulting tax revenue. Moreover, what made this different from the FIFA 2010 World Cup was that South Africa already had more than the required minimum eight stadiums required for the bid.

In his concluding remarks, he talked about some shifts going on with the EPG Annual Audit and Report. For the first time, the 2015/16 report gave a code by code analysis which allowed each of the federations to reflect on their strengths and weakness and to take appropriate action. Moving forward, the scope of the transformation barometer would be expanded from the current five codes to cover all 19 codes covered in the main report. The barometer was forward looking, and sought to commit federations to future targets for transformation and that would allow the Department to increase the pace of sports development and the transformation project.

EPG summary and outcomes

Mr Alec Moemi, Director General of the Department of Sport and Recreation (SRSA), said four EPG transformation audits had been completed and published. The first pilot audit in 2012/13 had probed the transformation status in five codes - athletics, cricket, rugby, football and netball. This was followed by three further audits in 2013/14, 2014/15 and 2015/16 which had included 14 additional codes – amateur boxing, basketball, baseball, chess, gymnastics, hockey, jukskei, netball, rowing, softball, swimming, table tennis, tennis and volleyball. The report provided a platform for debate and a review of transformation status, progress and action plans at different levels and areas within a federation.

The barometer project was introduced in May 2016 to address the weaknesses identified in the transformation process. The basis of the ‘Barometer’ process was a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) entered into by the five pilot codes with SRSA and the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC). In terms of the MoA, federations undertook to set their ‘own’ transformation targets and forecast performance levels in selected access and demographic-related charter dimensions over a period of five years, and to submit action plans for addressing findings and recommendations emanating from transformation audit reports. In terms of the MoA, failure of a code to achieve at least 50% of its ‘self-set’ targets could lead to one or more of the following interventions:

• Revoking of authority to bid for or stage international tournaments locally.
• Suspension or withdrawal of funding or support from government.
• Withdrawal of opportunity to award national colours.
• Withdrawal of recognition as a national federation in terms of the National Sports Act.

In the first year, the only code which had achieved its target had been football. The four others had not, even though the targets were set very low. This prompted the then Minister to look at the legal instruments at his disposal for addressing this non-performance. In addition to the above stated interventions, the Minister could also decide to withdraw political premiums from the non-performing federations.

He said the boardrooms of federations were changing because of transformation and more black people were now on the boards. The federations could no longer choose to ignore the Department and were obligated to answer to any directives issued by the Minister. At the time of imposing the sanction on the non-performing federations, the Minister had undertaken to review his decision based on the outcome of the results of the 2015/16 transformation status report. Cricket, rugby and netball had achieved more than 50% of their barometer targets in this audit, which had led to the sanction being lifted.

Athletics, however had not achieved the 50% pass rate for their set targets. The federation had indicated that they were in the middle of a major turnaround strategy which had resulted in a significant administration upheaval. The fact that some improvement had been shown had led to the Minister reinstating their right to bid for and host international tournaments, with specific directives.

Football had been given a strong directive from the Minister to take control of the SA Schools Football Association (SASFA) with a view to expanding football’s presence in schools and aligning competition structures and age-grades across the system. The EPG report showed that the fact that the schools’ governing bodies were the ones determining the kind of sports to be played in schools, in the majority of the historically white schools and private schools, football was not designated as a sport of choice. He emphasised the need to address that.

The second issue which had been brought to the attention of the Committee was that of the historical dispute between SASFA and the South African Football Association (SAFA). The Minister had given a directive that this must be resolved and the ministry would intervene if they refused to resolve their differences. However, the two organisations had begun talking to themselves to find a plausible solution to their differences.

The process of data collection had already been finalised and verification would begin soon to prepare for the next report of 2018. It was not easy to monitor all the codes at the same time, but with the EPG, the federations were always on their toes to do the right thing because none of them could tell when they would be checked. The EPG also evaluates the transformation charter, which speaks to a broader framework for transformation. Demographics, board compliance, governance, performance and other indicators were some of the things the EPG looked at. The EPG also noted the absence of technical officials for the South African national teams. Currently, 300 coaches were trained every year. On the usage of resources, it was noted this had also been a major challenge.

Going forward, there would be direct engagement with individual federations. The EPG had also highlighted the issue of the academy system. The barometer had shown the unavailability of medical sports officials and where available, they were mainly whites. Lack of competition among clubs in the various codes had also been noted. There was the need to develop community sports and for the federations to work within the limits of their available resources. In 2018, the EPG planned to evaluate government and the barometer of the eight codes.

Discussion

Mr M Filtane (UDM) said he appreciated the attendance of both the Minister and Deputy Minister. The Committee would endeavour to support the Department in getting a bigger slice of the budget at this time of budget cuts. He wanted to know if there was a detailed report on certain outcomes, such as social cohesion on economic impact. This had been absent in the EPG report, and if there was no report on the outcomes then it would be imperative to send one to the Committee. He also wanted to know how much publicity the EPG report received. What was the government doing, in accordance with the constitution, to give everyone a right to actively participate in sport to the fullest? He suggested that the Department should give the Committee the principles that would guide the Department’s focus on school sports, as well as the operational plan. When did the Department plan to approach Treasury for more funds?

Mr D Bergman (DA) said that in his opinion, the EPG was an arm of the Minister. He was of the view that the EPG was not able to take a holistic approach because it was quick to judge the federations, but lax in holding the government accountable. He agreed school sport was the foundation for sports and there was a need for transformation. Transformation must speak to gender also, and not just skin colour. He emphasised the need to transform athletics. He cautioned on the usage of the phrase “white and black schools”. He would rather find a way of equalising the schools with regard to sport. Referring to the loss of sponsorships, he advised that this must be considered because the more sponsorships that were obtained, the less investment the Department would have to make. He proposed that a sponsorship audit be carried out.

Mr T Mhlongo (DA) wanted to know how all the 20 000 schools were monitored and evaluated. He proposed that the SA Rugby Union (SARU) should come and give a presentation on the bid for the World Cup. He commented that the turnaround time of the codes was not clear, and he wanted specific and clear targets. He agreed about the need to transform athletics, and asked what the real issues with the athletics federation were that made them not achieve their self-set targets. He also welcomed the involvement of the Minister in the activities of the Department. On the reduction of the budget, he expressed concern, as this would impact negatively on community sports.

Ms B Abrahams (ANC) commented on the expansion of football among the white schools, saying that it was good that transformation was ongoing at such schools and expressed the need for proper oversight by the Committee. She asked the Department what the consequence would be if targets were not met. She said that facilities were a problem and a challenge, and wanted to know how transformation would be carried out in this area. On swimming, she said that there had been progress in that regard.

Ms D Manana (ANC) pointed out the male dominance in the delegation of the Department, and commented that it contradicted the transformation message of the Department. She also expressed worry over the non-inclusion of target programmes in the report of the EPG with regard to rural school sports and development. She wanted a detailed explanation on how much was being invested in both rural school sports and rural development. On the federations that could not reach their targets, she wanted to know who would be affected when the funding of such federations was suspended. She wanted to know about the barometer report on the Golf Federation of South Africa, and what was being done to transform the sector so that more black people could be involved. She talked about the farm school in Mpumalanga that accommodated farm learners, and pleaded with the Minister to assist in providing sporting facilities for them.

The Chairperson said the Committee must demand consequence management for federations that did not comply, and pressure must be put on them to transform. On the issue of evaluating the government, he expressed some reservations on that because some federations that were well off were the ones sponsoring that idea. The government still had to deal with legacy issues with its meagre budget. He believed the Committee must also develop its own programmes with the low scoring federations so that they could be held to account. On the issue of talent identification, the Department was investing heavily in this, and in community and school sports.

SRSA’s response

Minister Nxesi, in his response to the issue of the outcomes and the impacts, said that the Department was currently at the stage of the basics, which was the stage of the inputs. There were a lot of factors to be considered in sports. There was the need to monitor the inputs for now to see how well they would perform to give a desirable outcome. These outcomes would be discussed later and he agreed that this was a necessity. On the issue of sponsorship, he said that it was important to hold the leaders of these relevant federations accountable. There was a need for sound leadership and good governance. He told the Committee some of the loss of sponsorship was a result of a lack of accountability, and some of the leaders of these federations were making money for their private pockets from sponsors at the expense of the federations.

Mr Gert Oosthuizen, Deputy Minister of Sport, said he fully agreed with the Minister. He talked about the inputs and the expected outcomes. He told the Committee there was a plan to open the National Sports and Recreation Plan to all the provinces in the country. It was important that communities should be encouraged to take ownership of sports facilities. He encouraged the Committee to go out and see the good work being done by the Department.

Mr Moemi said that the EPG was already looking at the economic impacts, and this included procurement and who the federations were buying for. It was important to establish a proper communication channel and method in reporting for the EPG report. On the guidelines to be adopted, the DG specified that there were operational plans for the EPG, and these were clearly stated in the annual performance plan of the Department. On the timeframe to approach the National Treasury, the Minister had established talks with Treasury, and the Department had also come up with proposals to increase its income streams.

On the issue of the EPG not being an independent body, he said that it was indeed independent since it set its own targets.

On sponsorships, he agreed there was a need to look more deeply into why sponsors were not forthcoming. He also spoke about the engagements with the top 40 companies on the Johannesburg Stock Market. On the differentiation between “black and white” schools, he said he had been speaking historically. The Department could not monitor all schools but there was an electronic system which can help in doing this. He agreed on the need for SARU to make a presentation before the Committee. He also agreed on the issue of the reduction in the budget, and commented that this was devastating for the Department. On the consequences for non-compliance, he referred to the presentation and said that these were well spelt out.

On the male dominated delegation, he said that the delegations had been chosen, based on the issues to be discussed and the agenda. He therefore insisted that the Department was balanced in terms of gender. From a workforce point of view, he was of the opinion there were more women in the Department. In the chief director positions, there was need to address some gender distortions there, but every other position had a fair balance between both genders.

On the issue of deregistration, both athletes and the federation suffered, but the Department was striving to help federations achieve their targets. On the question of golf, this had not yet been included in the codes of the EPG, and this was being looked to as a future code. He pointed out that in golf, there was an issue of cost, but there were activities being planned to create awareness in the sport.

On the issue of the assessment of the government by the EPG, the DG said there was no problem with this and the government would gladly welcome it.

SRSA fourth quarter performance

Dr Bernardus van der Spuy, Chief Director: Strategy, SRSA said there had been 23 targets to be achieved by the Department during the quarter under review. In total, 19 targets had been achieved and four not achieved. When the achievement of three targets that had been carried over from previous quarters were included, the performance amounted to 85% (22 targets achieved, four not achieved). The annual achievement stood at 82%, which was 23 targets out of 28.

In programme 1, there had been three targets to be achieved during the quarter under review. The training target was achieved in the previous quarters, making the non-achievement in Q4 insignificant. Thus, only one target -- the creditor payment age -- which was not achieved. The achievement against the target carried over from Q2 was not reflected. It would be reflected in the annual achievements. The moderation of performance assessments that had been partially achieved in the second quarter was completed in the period under review. The client satisfaction survey report was presented to management and consequently approved. The survey results would go a long way in assisting with decision-making. With regards to the challenges encountered with the creditor payment age of 30 days, even though most the invoices were finalised within 30 days, the overall achievement of this indicator was still a challenge. However, resolving this challenge was one of SRSA’s priorities because of the implications that non-adherence had, especially for small businesses. The Department was working on a system of isolating disputed invoices to ensure that such invoices did not affect the overall invoice payment age, until such time that they were corrected by the service provider.

For programme 2, there had been nine targets to be achieved during the quarter under review. Three targets were achieved and six not achieved.  However, annual targets of four of the indicators had already been achieved in the previous quarters. Therefore, only two targets were not achieved. In programme 2, the targeted participants were exceeded. This was because mass-based events, such as the Big Walk, provided open access to participants. On the challenges, The Autumn Championships could not be held in the quarter due to financial constraints. The event had been held in first quarter of 2017/18 and would be reported on during the first quarter reporting period.

Due to delayed reporting, the reported quarter four information excluded final verified performance evidence. The Department was undertaking a verification process to clean up reports that provinces had submitted. However, where achievement was reported, this was because the targets had been met following the verification of the third quarter performance information. Therefore, the final verification of performance information would only increase the reported numbers of achievement.

In programme three, there were five targets to be achieved, and six were achieved. One target not reported on in the third quarter had been reported on in quarter four. This achievement was not reflected but was included in the annual achievement. All targets for programme three for the period under review had been achieved. All 66 ministerial bursary beneficiaries had been supported during the period under review. This was in addition to those who received support during the previous quarters. The Andrew Mlangeni Green Jacket Awards were reported on, as they could not be reported on in quarter three because of delayed proof of evidence. Similarly, the Regional Sports Awards were reported on during this period. There were no challenges encountered in this programme in the period under review.

For programme 4, there were 4 targets to be achieved by the programme during the quarter under review.  3 targets were achieved and 1 was not achieved. Achievement against 1 target that was carried over, was not reflected.

For programme four, where the ‘actual’ for the period under review was lower than the target, but reported as ‘achieved’, the reason was because the target had been met in quarter three, and this had led to the achievement of the annual target. On challenges encountered, the target of the national federations entering the transformation barometer agreement with the Minister had not been achieved due to lengthy consultations. The Department had therefore prioritised the signing of these agreements because of their impact on transformation assessments.

SRSA’s financial performance

Mr Lesedi Mere, Chief Financial Officer, SRSA, said the transfer payment spending was at 99.9%, or R749.3m out of a budget of R749.8m. The North-West province had been penalised R330 000 for non-compliance in the financial year 2016/2017. This amount would be surrendered in the current financial year. Capital assets expenditure was at 74.2%, totalling R1.6m out of a budget of R2.1m. The overall Departmental summary showed that for current payments, there was a budget of R274 590 000 and an expenditure of R271 864 000. For programme one, the total budget allocated was R117 812 000 and the final expenditure was R117 140 000. For programme two, the total budget was R684 385 000 and the total expenditure was R683 956 000. In programme three, the budget was R 63 155 000 and final expenditure was R62 684 000. Programme four had a budget of R147 256 000 and a final expenditure of R147 123 000. On programme 5, R13 992 000 was budgeted, and R12 526 000 spent.

 

Discussion

Mr Mhlongo questioned the rationale of the Department in saying they had achieved. In his own view, an 82% annual achievement was not a pass mark compared to the budget, and he therefore put it to the Department that it had not achieved. He also talked about the non-payment of invoices within 30 days. He asked why there was no mention of monitoring and evaluation in the performance presentation. In his opinion, all the services and financials should go together.

Mr L Ntshayisa (AIC) talked about the penalty handed out to the North-West Province, and wanted to know exactly why they were fined. On the issue of over expenditure, he wanted to know where the funds had come from.

Mr Filtane referred to programme one, and noted there was a huge appetite for sport. He advised the Department to use this as a strong argument for more funds when it approached National Treasury for its funds. He asked the Department how it achieved 100% client satisfaction. On programme two, he wanted to know the attraction for the Big Walk. Lastly, he proposed that if a target set for a quarter was not met, it should not be listed in the next quarter when it was met, and such results should rather be added to the annual performance report.

Ms Manana referred to programme one with regard to creditor payments. This had also been highlighted in 2015 and was showing up again in 2017. She advised the Department to correct all invoices before they were sent out. Referring to the financial presentation, she praised the CFO for a job well done.

The Chairperson remarked on the issue of the school championships. He wanted to know if the problem of capacity had been resolved.

SRSA’s response

The DG in his response to the question of achievement, said that the current achievement of the Department was 82% and there was a process of verification which was ongoing. The total achievement could be recorded only when all verifications had been concluded. Responding to the issue of the correlation between expenditure and performance, he said that some of the targets were not financial targets, so they did not attract financial expenditure. He said that therefore the implication was that there could be an indirect correlation. On the issue of the championship, he told the Committee it had been planned for March 2017, but there had been a difficulty due to the school holidays. This had prompted the Department to use universities and though the championship had already been paid for in March, it had been held only in April, so it had been impossible for the Department to record that as an achievement since it had happened after the close of the previous financial year.

On the contribution of the provinces, a comprehensive analysis had been done and the bigger provinces were naturally expected to carry the bulk of the finances, but some of them had not achieved their targets. On the issue of the federations and transformation, the Department preferred the federations to set their own targets so that they could meet their targets. There was confidence that all the federations would sign up with the barometer.

On the 30-day payment of the service providers, he said that the National Treasury had listed SRSA as one of the best performing departments in this regard, but it was working tirelessly to address this issue so that service providers could be paid their money within the approved time frames.

Presentation by Love Life

Dr Lebogang Maroo Chief Executive Officer: Love Life said that during the strategy period of 2014 to 2019, LoveLife would strategically implement partners for government on issues relating to young people and for sports, provide linkages with the national sport federations and school sport sevents, offer HIV and AIDS awareness campaigns, life skills training, learning materials and other resources to equip the coaches with the “soft skills” required for working with young athletes.

LoveLife had a package of programmes, one of which was Active Life Styles, funded by SRSA, Healthy Life Style, which was funded by the Department of Health, and youth development, which was made up of many partners. The target audience of LoveLife was young people from the age of ten to 24, but there were three kinds of programmes dependent on the target age group.

There were multiple platforms used by LoveLife for engaging with young people. This included social support, media branding and campaigns. The main reason for the programmes implemented by LoveLife was to expose young people to knowledge about having risky life styles, such as risky sexual live styles. She spoke about townships where there were no recreational activities for young people, therefore exposing them to risky life styles. The Department, in collaboration with LoveLife, prioritised activities which were used in reaching out to the young people. In the last financial year, priority had been given to the National Volunteer Corps programme, community sports and sport for social change and development.

Mr Raxmax Mashigo, Senior Executive Manager, Programmes and Operations, talked about the coaching programme introduced by LoveLife for coaches, and said this had been accredited and had yielded a lot of success. In terms of the youth camps, there had been tremendous success recorded also in this regard and it had brought a lot of change to the young people. In terms of sport for social change, the programme was aimed at ensuring that young people participated in sports. This included a recreational programme and in the last year this programme had seen 1 221 sports leagues formed, with 11 442 teams participating in league fixtures in various codes within various communities in South Africa.

It was important to be able to get the right people for the National Volunteer Corps programme, and not much progress had been made in this regard because of the rigorous vetting process involved. With regard to community sport, there were facilities that were provided beyond football, such as basketball, and this programme had also recorded a fair amount of success.  13 groundBREAKERS had been placed at various International Football Federation (FIFA) legacy sites across the country. Four basketball leagues had been registered, with a total of 48 teams playing the game at various LoveLife Y-Centres.

On the Move4Health campaigns, it was important to get a lot of young South Africans involved in this programme. In 2016, a total of 111 Move4Health events were organised by LoveLife groundBREAKERS at community level. At the national level, LoveLife had supported National Recreation day and the Big Walk.

On the challenges being experienced by LoveLife, significant amounts of expenditure remained unfunded, as the cost of implementation was higher than the grant income received. Consequently, LoveLife had had two restructuring exercises in 2016, and the inability to deliver on projects that have external dependencies had led to carry-overs of funds.

Ms Linda Nkomo Chief Financial Officer, said LoveLife was funded mainly by two government Departments, Health and SRSA. A total allocation of R38m was received from SRSA, positive inflation adjusted from 2015. At least 77% of the grant amount had been spent on programmatic activities. The Department of Health’s contribution to LoveLife was R57m. PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) had given an unqualified audit report for the 2016 financial year.

Discussion

Mr Filtane said he had a misconception on what LoveLife was all about, and wanted to know how the name of the trust corroborated its activities. In his opinion, there was no correlation between the name of the trust and its activities. He asked about the social impact, and balance between the financials and expenditure of LoveLife.

Ms Abrahams talked about social change and development, and wanted to know the breakdown within the provinces as to how the leagues were formed. She also asked about the purpose of the leagues, since there were local organising committees in almost all the communities. She wanted to know if LoveLife had permission to conduct programmes on drugs and drug abuse, and how successful the programmes were. She asked about the social schemes and wanted to know how this was monitored. On funding, she wanted to know if LoveLife had tried to get into partnerships with non-government sources.

Mr Bergman talked about the budget and said it was misleading. He acknowledged that the Department of Sport was paying a lion’s share of the budget and urged that there must be fairness between the contributing departments. He therefore argued that other departments must also contribute equally to the budget of LoveLife. He spoke on the contrast between the pictures displayed in the presentation and the pictures which were seen during the oversight visit of the Department.

Ms Manana appreciated the good work being done by LoveLife, especially in rural communities. She talked about the volunteer corps, and wanted to know the reason why the data base of the volunteer corps had not been provided.

LoveLife’s response

Dr Lebogang told Mr Filtane that LoveLife had initially been established as a family foundation, as a private partnership between civil society, the government and the foundation. At that time, it was formed with the sole objective of educating young people on the risk of HIV and AIDS and the need to love life, hence the name LoveLife. Health and keeping healthy was the sole objective of the trust. On the social impact report, she agreed it was needed and she would forward same to him.

She responded on the issue of drug abuse and society. The results of the research showed that if one allowed young people who were already hooked on drugs to substitute drugs with other activities, there would be a different attitude from them.

Mr Raxmax Mashigo responded to the question about the groundBREAKERS. They provided thorough training on health issues. There was an assumption that things were happening in the rural communities with regard to sports, but this was not the case and the Department had evidence to show that organised sports did not occur in the rural communities. This was where LoveLife came in. He added that LoveLife did have some other financial partners.

Mr Moemi told the Committee that LoveLife had been asked to transform itself to become a true sport non-government organisation (NGO). Regarding the questions about the Volunteer Corps, he said that this information was readily available on the website of the Department.

The meeting was adjourned.